The diamond drill. (Crystal Falls, Iron County, Mich.) 1887-1996, 1887-12-10

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and twigs, wild ducks and geese begin
their flight southwark along the winding
course of the Wabash.
Even for days before this first invasion
Of wintry wind, and before the first
faint film of ice has formed at the
edges of still pools and bayous, few
teal have been fitting about from haunt
TO haunt, rising no higher than the tall
tree-tops and slanting quickly downward
in long, gently-curving lines to the edge
OF some ripping shallow. Here half a
dozen in flock may be seen sitting with
their bills under their wings sleeping in
the warm sunshine and looking prepos-
terously large by reason of their rounded
and bunchy attitude, while far above in
the very dome OF the sky faintly-out-
lined arrowhead of gray sand-hill cranes
Is so still that the arrow may have
pierced the target and be sticking there
forever.
Look out for storm from the north.
h-yayrd the vile geese uh hollern las
night I'm uh gittun my gun ready fur
um, too" said an old hunter, who has
lived fifty years on the banks OF the
Wabash-once the very paradise of hunt
ers and fishers; now only occasionally
good for purpose of pastime and relaxa-
ton.
Sure enough, the storm came along the
following Sunday; in fact il began on Sat
urday evening. AZ intervals all night long
could be heard the Gathering cry of wild
geese-hcck after flock fitting south
ward on the very wings Of the storm.
Now, If there should come few cloudy
days without much wind and little in
termittent and fitful drizzle--not enough
TO wet, but enough TO set the ducks flying
about from bayou to bayou and from
pond to river--the duck shooting will be
at its best
But TO be at its very best let one of
those warm snow-storms come that some
times favor the real hunter. the man who
Is willing 10 get wet and cold and
hungry and tired for season of actual
sport--let such a storm come while the
air and the ground are still so warm that
the thick flakes melt and disappear almost
as soon as they touch the fallen leaves
that cover the earth with a gorgeous
tapestry in every shade of crimson and
yellow and purple and brown.
Then all the migratory birds of the
air are flying low and clamoring noisily
SO that the hunter, blinded by the
showering snow, is still amply warned
of the approach of the
needless throngs of geese
and ducks that, in spite of zs
the dull md IRE gular
booming of heavily-loaded
guns, drive wildly on,
scarcely swerving from their course
more than to rise franticalIy in the air
when fired upon, only to sink down again
at once To the level of the trce-tops.
The Wabash bottoms are peculiarly
fitted to be the temporary resting place
of aquatic birds in their semi-annual /
because they are practically
"The ilrst bottom" as
the lower level next the river Is called,
IS subject TO annual floods that
sweep away fences and small build
ihgs SO frequently and so certainly that
fences and buildings in these wide first |
bottoms are not attempted save upon
a few short ''levees" and upon the few |
Indian mounds that are occasionally /
found in these situations. To all intents
and purposes these wide first bottoms are
4 wilderness of woods and scattered dead
trees and wide brown cornfields that,
with ponds and sloughs, make fine feed